Lady Gaga Not Happy During Her Deposition

A deposition is when one side has the opportunity to cross-examine an opposing witness prior to trial. It is a key event in the discovery process. Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, is being sued for unpaid overtime by a former legal assistant. Jennifer O’Neill claims she is owed $393,000 for 7,168 hours of overtime pay. That is a lot of overtime. Lady Gaga claims Ms. O’Neill was paid $75,000/year in salary. Apparently, Lady Gaga is claiming that Ms. O’Neill was on salary and exempt from overtime pay.

During her deposition, Lady Gaga insisted this lawsuit was "bulls—t" and the lawyer knows it. She (Ms. O’Neill) thinks she is the "queen of the universe," and she did not want to be a slave to one, because, said the Lady, "I’m the queen of the universe everyday."

Lady Gaga insisted her employees work no more than eight hours per day, although the time is spaced throughout the day. You don’t get a schedule you can like "play f—ing Tetris at your desk for hours." "This is — when I need you, you’re available." See ABA Bar Journal report.

In a deposition, the witness should always remember that everything said can and probably will end up in front of a judge and jury. It is easy to forget during a deposition that the real audience is the judge and jury, not the opposing party and her lawyer. These statements will likely haunt Lady Gaga during her lawsuit. And, if she cannot document her assistant’s time better than when "I need you," she may well lose this lawsuit.